28-Mar-2024 22:34 GMT.
UNDER CONSTRUCTION
Anonymous, there are 38 items in your selection
[News] Softwood...ANN.lu
Posted on 16-Nov-2000 21:04 GMT by Christian Kemp38 comments
View flat
View list
As discovered by an article and comment in the unmoderated section, Softwood (Whois) of FinalWriter and FinalData fame seem to have found a more profitable market... Foxes.com (Whois) is more or less an adult site... so don't click if you're not inclined, supposed, or allowed to visit such sites.
Softwood... : Comment 1 of 38ANN.lu
Posted by A.V. on 15-Nov-2000 23:00 GMT
The worst news of all is that they use Windows2K to run the site. ;-(
Softwood... : Comment 2 of 38ANN.lu
Posted by Anonymous on 16-Nov-2000 23:00 GMT
In reply to Comment 1 (A.V.):
Softwood (the one that made Final Writer at. al.) were based in the south of England - this Softwood is based in Phoenix, Arizona - they're definately unrelated!!
Softwood... : Comment 3 of 38ANN.lu
Posted by John Millington on 16-Nov-2000 23:00 GMT
In reply to Comment 2 (Anonymous):
I am absolutely certain that the Softwood that I bought my Cyberstorm from,
and sent FinalWriter registration to, was in Arizona.
Softwood... : Comment 4 of 38ANN.lu
Posted by Anonymous on 16-Nov-2000 23:00 GMT
That is certainly Woody's name in the whois description.
Softwood... : Comment 5 of 38ANN.lu
Posted by Christopher Maland on 16-Nov-2000 23:00 GMT
Who finds this stuff? Are they rich or need a job (life?)?
Softwood... : Comment 6 of 38ANN.lu
Posted by NihilVor on 16-Nov-2000 23:00 GMT
In reply to Comment 5 (Christopher Maland):
Softwood... Soft wood sounds like anti-porn to me. :)
Softwood... : Comment 7 of 38ANN.lu
Posted by Frederik Yssing on 16-Nov-2000 23:00 GMT
HA ha ha ha ha ha...
this is very funny news, it is not really topic, but funny to read...
Softwood... : Comment 8 of 38ANN.lu
Posted by Kojak on 16-Nov-2000 23:00 GMT
Maybe they will change it into HARDwood now...lol...
Softwood... : Comment 9 of 38ANN.lu
Posted by Anonymous on 16-Nov-2000 23:00 GMT
He obviously isn't called "Woody" for nothing.
Anyone have more information on Merlancia's FinalSuite, has Woody got his hand in again?
With AmigaDE, he could be making money hand over fist, he was the cream of Amiga programmers.
Softwood... : Comment 10 of 38ANN.lu
Posted by Carlos on 16-Nov-2000 23:00 GMT
Hmm, seems I like new Softwood's "stuff" more than their crappy software ;)
Softwood... : Comment 11 of 38ANN.lu
Posted by Chris Kelley on 16-Nov-2000 23:00 GMT
In reply to Comment 9 (Anonymous):
HAHAHA! :)
"Remember folks,the 9:00 show is completely different from the 7:00 show..."
Softwood... : Comment 12 of 38ANN.lu
Posted by John Millington on 16-Nov-2000 23:00 GMT
BTW, since we're talking about Softwood, I would like to mention a little
story about them...
They were the main US distributor for Phase 5 products at one point, I think.
I preordered a CyberStorm 060 Mk II from them, long before the product was
actually ready. At the time, I didn't have a "normal" credit card that I
could use for the purchase, so I prepayed with postal money order.
When Phase 5 finally started shipping the boards, Softwood found that their
former bookkeeper had recorded that they had received my payment, but had
somehow lost the money order. Whoops. Oh well, shit happens.
What happened next was amazing: even though they didn't really _have_ the
payment anymore, they decided to ship the board to me anyway, and WAIT for me
to get a refund from the post office on the cancelled money order and then
mail them a personal check. If I had been a jerk or deadbeat, they would have
been out a kilobuck. Whoever made that decision (I assume it was Terry)
was willing to take a risk in the interest of giving good customer service.
I hold these folks in high regard, and hope that their new business sustains
them through these dark (but improving?) times in the computer industry.
Softwood... : Comment 13 of 38ANN.lu
Posted by Paul McCord on 16-Nov-2000 23:00 GMT
Kind of sad when you sit down and think about it. I will never look at Finalwriter in the same way again. Mind you, they make more money from showing dodgy pictures then by writing serious software for our beloved machine. Which raises two questions:
1) The product tie-ins that Softwood could do (Free .jpegs with every FinalWriter).
2) Is this the start of a mass exodus of Amiga Delevopers to the seedy world of 'pay as you view' porn? I could suggest to the more gulliable readers to search the ANN website for blind links, but I'm far too good natured to write such a terrible thing....
In the light of the Mediator/P96 faux pas I need a damn good laugth so thank you Softwood!
Softwood... : Comment 14 of 38ANN.lu
Posted by Marcel on 16-Nov-2000 23:00 GMT
I thought you guys (i.e. CK) was against putting up links to pornography on this site? ;)
This is real offensive stuff too. They all got boob jobs. Eww. 8P
Softwood... : Comment 15 of 38ANN.lu
Posted by Nasu on 16-Nov-2000 23:00 GMT
Well, money is money and I'm personally happy to see that foxes.com's interface (fonts/colors) have lil basic-workbench feel in it ;-)
Softwood... : Comment 16 of 38ANN.lu
Posted by Frank Brockway on 16-Nov-2000 23:00 GMT
In reply to Comment 2 (Anonymous):
Actually, Softwood is based in Arizona, USA, not in England. They did have a distributor there, but they are an Yank company.
Softwood... : Comment 17 of 38ANN.lu
Posted by Johnny Mann on 16-Nov-2000 23:00 GMT
In reply to Comment 16 (Frank Brockway):
Heh! Judging from the content of the new site, "yank" is the right word!
("Yank" is US slang similar to "Wank" for those that speak the Queen's English!) ;)
Softwood... : Comment 18 of 38ANN.lu
Posted by hughes on 16-Nov-2000 23:00 GMT
the world is full of old wood... dead wood... and plywood
too old to change
too dumb to change
and those that think that the world is flat and that M$ is the next coming
Softwood... : Comment 19 of 38ANN.lu
Posted by Steve Folberg on 16-Nov-2000 23:00 GMT
In reply to Comment 12 (John Millington):
Yeah, I loved Softwood! Final Writer was a great, great product; it still has the
best postscript printing support of any Amiga WP, as well as the best
thesaurus and grammar checker. I bought every upgrade of Final Writer that they
ever published, in addition to all the font disks. When Softwood came out with
an upgrade, you knew it was going to install flawlessly and be as bug-free
as humanly possible, too.
Okay, I'm a little biased: I beta-tested for them once.
It would be awesome if they'd develop for the NG Amiga!
Bye,
Steve
Softwood... : Comment 20 of 38ANN.lu
Posted by Woody on 17-Nov-2000 23:00 GMT
In reply to Comment 2 (Anonymous):
SoftWood, Inc. of Phoenix, Arizona (my company) programmed and produced many Amiga titles including: Final Writer, Pen Pal, Write and File, Final Data, MiAmiga File, File IIsg, and more. Gordon Harwood Computers of England was one of my distributors.
Softwood... : Comment 21 of 38ANN.lu
Posted by Christian Kemp on 17-Nov-2000 23:00 GMT
In reply to Comment 14 (Marcel):
> I thought you guys (i.e. CK) was against putting up links to pornography on this site? ;)
I am, basically. But as you might remember, the only other case where I removed a link was when the site contained one nude picture, with no other content whatsoever and no link at all to anything Amiga. In this case, the news item wouldn't have been complete without the link, there's a clear warning, and at least the topic has some relevance to the Amiga, by showing what became of a once famous Amiga company.
Softwood... : Comment 22 of 38ANN.lu
Posted by victor # on 17-Nov-2000 23:00 GMT
In reply to Comment 14 (Marcel):
This is not really a usual porn-site. Rather, this is quite high-class and nice, comparable to Playboy. (Nudity is generally not as bad.)
Softwood... : Comment 23 of 38ANN.lu
Posted by Time Will Tell on 17-Nov-2000 23:00 GMT
In reply to Comment 20 (Woody):
COME HOME WOODY WE NEED YOU. Ijust found a copy of 97 at MR Hardware, glad to
get it.
Your ease of use/quality level was flat out the best. Thanks for
everything you wrote.
Understanding that you need to put food on the table, I still hope there is some
Amiga in your future.
Best of luck Tom Eitel.
Softwood... : Comment 24 of 38ANN.lu
Posted by John Block on 17-Nov-2000 23:00 GMT
In reply to Comment 20 (Woody):
Hi Woody,
Is Final Suite as mentioned earlier going to be ported upgrades of
your software?
Thanks,
John
Softwood... : Comment 25 of 38ANN.lu
Posted by Wile Bill on 18-Nov-2000 23:00 GMT
In reply to Comment 20 (Woody):
Hey, Woody, glad to see you're still interested enough in the Amiga to frequent this site.
I always had a lot of respect for your company and your products. I still use them a lot, as a matter of fact.
Hopefully one day you can come back and write some killer apps for the Amiga NG.
Softwood... : Comment 26 of 38ANN.lu
Posted by Ryan Czerwinski on 18-Nov-2000 23:00 GMT
Yes. Wooday (owner of Softwood, Inc.) is in the "adult services" market now. We are currently in negotiations to purchase the rights to the Softwood product line, which, there is hopefully a decent market for in the future.
Softwood... : Comment 27 of 38ANN.lu
Posted by Ryan Czerwinski on 18-Nov-2000 23:00 GMT
Please excuse if this has already been the determination. Softwood, Inc, the corp that created the FinalSuite Amiga products is based out of Phoenix, AZ USA, run by Woody Williams. The website www.softwood.com is and was the website where the Softwood FinalXYZ products were sold at. I never asked Woody what the URl to his "new business" was. i really didn't give a ****. All that I was concerned about was the Amiga product line, which we will eventually have the full rights to, and update and expand. (For those if interest, please sned featurleist want lists to Amiga@merlancia.com for the consideration of the development staff. Note that "Microsoft Word Import" is already the top feature that has been requested, and it is not really useful to us to get 250 e-mails that only contain "I want MS-Word Doc Import.". Please think hard on this one, as we can only include what we can contrive and what people ask for. Any really neat features will be considered. A proposed featurlist will be presented within the next 60 days.)
Cheers-Chip/Meister
Softwood... : Comment 28 of 38ANN.lu
Posted by Woody on 19-Nov-2000 23:00 GMT
In reply to Comment 23 (Time Will Tell):
Thanks. I wish/hope there is an Amiga in our future. I miss those days when we were developing Amiga software.
Softwood... : Comment 29 of 38ANN.lu
Posted by Woody on 19-Nov-2000 23:00 GMT
In reply to Comment 24 (John Block):
Actually, I haven't heard about Final Suite until now. I wonder who is selling whom what? No one has contacted SoftWood, Inc. to purchase anything.
Softwood... : Comment 30 of 38ANN.lu
Posted by Woody on 19-Nov-2000 23:00 GMT
In reply to Comment 25 (Wile Bill):
Thanks, developing for the Amiga again would be fun to do for sure. If only it paid for the salaries of my employees. Maybe someday. Hopefully.
Softwood... : Comment 31 of 38ANN.lu
Posted by Woody on 19-Nov-2000 23:00 GMT
In reply to Comment 29 (Woody):
OK, maybe I should say that no one has contacted me personally about buying my product line. There are no offers on the table from anyone that I am aware of.
Softwood... : Comment 32 of 38ANN.lu
Posted by John Block on 19-Nov-2000 23:00 GMT
In reply to Comment 28 (Woody):
Final Writer was just getting better and better each reincarnation. We can imagine how you must have felt being unable to develop it further.
Softwood... : Comment 33 of 38ANN.lu
Posted by Jim Ross on 19-Nov-2000 23:00 GMT
In reply to Comment 31 (Woody):
Are you really the Woody from SoftWood?<br>
If so what is this all about, the Merlancia bloke is saying he is in negotiations with you to buy the rights to the Final Suite yet you say you have heard nothing? Give us the official word.
Softwood... : Comment 34 of 38ANN.lu
Posted by Woody on 23-Nov-2000 23:00 GMT
In reply to Comment 32 (John Block):
Yes, it was not a good time when we had to cease development. The Commodore thing totally caught me off guard. I had no idea they were in financial trouble. I had everything invested in my company. It was quite a shock. We continued to upgrade for awhile, but slowly and steadily the upgrade income diminished. I had to let employees go. I did not like to do that. I almost went out of business.
Softwood... : Comment 35 of 38ANN.lu
Posted by Woody on 23-Nov-2000 23:00 GMT
In reply to Comment 33 (Jim Ross):
Someone emailed us a couple of months ago wanting to buy the rights to our software. I did not take the email. However, the party never got back to us with an offer. I will need to look through our old emails to see if that was Merlancia. After reading the posts here about Final Suite, I emailed Merlancia to ask them what was up with their claims. I never got a reply. So, I have no idea where this Final Suite thing is coming from. If software is currently being modified, it certainly is not SoftWood's source code. If Merlancia wants to modify SoftWood's source code, they have not made me any kind of offer. So, I am pretty much in the dark about all of this. If someone is planning on doing something like this, it would be nice if they would first make the deal before making the claims.
Softwood... : Comment 36 of 38ANN.lu
Posted by Rich Newman on 23-Nov-2000 23:00 GMT
In reply to Comment 20 (Woody):
Hi Woody
I bought PenPal for $125 retail. It was crap. Instead of upgrading it you wrote
Final Write. Then your company wouldn't give me a nickel to upgrade to Final
Write. Saying "This is a new piece of software." I upgraded to ProWrite it was
a wonderful program.
Hey Wood, that's customer service. Hope to never do business with you again
Softwood... : Comment 37 of 38ANN.lu
Posted by Warren Katchmar on 23-Nov-2000 23:00 GMT
In reply to Comment 35 (Woody):
Woody,
Would you be willing to do a CD of the Final programs? It seems that there is a
interest here of user that would be willing to have a CD verison of the Final programs.
I know that I would love to see the Final programs upgraded to the new OS:-)
Here is one hoping.
Warren
Softwood... : Comment 38 of 38ANN.lu
Posted by Woody on 24-Nov-2000 23:00 GMT
In reply to Comment 36 (Rich Newman):
Can't please everyone.
Anonymous, there are 38 items in your selection
Back to Top